Business Digest Radio

Child care is not simply a family issue—it is workforce and economic infrastructure. In this episode of The Business Signal, host Dirk Hobbs speaks with SherryLynn Boyles, president and CEO of Joint Initiatives for Youth + Families, about the shortage of affordable child care across the Pikes Peak region.
Boyles explains how limited capacity affects parents’ ability to work, employers’ ability to recruit and retain talent, and children’s long-term development. The conversation also explores Joint Initiatives’ collaborative model, bringing agencies, educators, providers, employers, and community leaders together to reduce fragmented access to services.
Listeners will learn why solving the crisis requires more providers, stronger support for the early-childhood workforce, sustainable funding, and greater employer involvement. The message is direct: businesses cannot treat child care as someone else’s problem. Employers, policymakers, providers, and residents all have a role in building a system that allows families—and the economy—to thrive.
Engage - Learn - Be a difference maker!
https://jointinitiatives.org 
https://kidsstongstart.org 

Dawn Dawson, Chief Marketing Officer at Mortgage Solutions Financial and founder of Reflections Advertising, joins The Business Signal for a practical conversation about how businesses should rethink marketing in an era shaped by artificial intelligence, automation, and rapidly changing customer behavior.
Dawson argues that many companies have modernized their operations while allowing their marketing to remain outdated. Customers now begin with Google, online reviews, social platforms, and increasingly AI-powered search tools. That means businesses must make their value easy to discover, understand, trust, and ultimately buy.
The discussion emphasizes translating technical capabilities into customer outcomes. Buyers are less interested in complicated terminology than in whether a company can solve a problem, deliver reliably, and stand behind its work. Dawson encourages businesses to turn their expertise into visible proof through short videos, employee interviews, case studies, FAQs, blogs, and measurable examples of problems solved.
She also challenges leaders to abandon familiar but ineffective tactics, focus on revenue rather than vanity metrics, and regularly reassess where customers are looking. While AI can improve speed and efficiency, Dawson warns against automating away the human story. Technology should support stronger relationships, clearer communication, and greater trust - not replace the people who give a business credibility.

Max Cupp, Executive Director of Exponential Impact joins host, Dirk Hobbs The Southern Colorado Business Signal to discuss what it takes to build, fund and scale promising young companies in Southern Colorado.
The conversation explores the realities facing early-stage founders, the importance of experienced mentorship and strong professional networks, and Exponential Impact’s role in connecting entrepreneurs with the resources, relationships and guidance they need to grow. Cupp also discusses the broader opportunity to strengthen Colorado Springs as a nationally competitive center for technology, innovation and entrepreneurship.
https://exponentialimpact.com 
https://socodigest.com 

Davis Tutt and Rands Keasler from the Colorado Springs Sports Corporation join host Dirk Hobbs on The Southern Colorado Business Signal for a wide-ranging conversation about the growing economic and civic influence of sports in Olympic City USA.
The discussion looks beyond the competition itself to examine what major sporting events generate for the region: hotel stays, restaurant and retail activity, national exposure, community participation and opportunities to attract future events and investment.  The team explains their recent big win in recruiting the World Lacrosse Sixes Championships to Colorado Springs in October 2027. This is the qualifying event for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, which will bring an estimated 10,000 new visitors to Colorado Springs for two weeks. 
The guests explain the extensive work required behind the scenes to recruit, organize and successfully execute events involving athletes, spectators, volunteers, sponsors, venues and community partners. They also discuss how established traditions and newly secured competitions strengthen Colorado Springs’ reputation as a destination capable of hosting events with regional, national and international significance.
The conversation makes clear that sports are more than entertainment. They are an economic-development asset, a source of civic pride and an important part of the region’s identity.
Listen to the full episode for an inside look at how the Colorado Springs Sports Corporation turns sporting events into lasting value for Southern Colorado.
STILL COMING UP IN SEPTEMBER: https://sportscorp.org 
Labor Day Lift Off (September 5-7)
Pikes Peak Regional Air Show (September 19-20)
PLUS: Save the date: Pikes Peak Sports Economy Report (December 9)
 

Mitchell Roth, co-founder and CEO of Culinova (formerly Roth Industries), joins Dirk Hobbs on The Southern Colorado Business Signal for a conversation about entrepreneurship, food manufacturing and the next stage of growth for one of Colorado Springs’ most ambitious homegrown companies.
Culinova is building a national prepared-foods platform around restaurant-quality products, advanced manufacturing and the ability to respond quickly to changing consumer tastes. Roth discusses the company’s evolution, the realities of scaling a manufacturing business and why speed, innovation and operational discipline have become increasingly important in the food industry.
The conversation also explores Culinova’s anticipated entry into the public markets in 2027 and what that transition could mean for the company, its employees, investors and the broader Colorado Springs business community.
It is a candid look at the decisions, risks and persistence required to take a locally founded enterprise from an entrepreneurial idea to a company preparing for its next major chapter.
https://culinova.com 

Congressman Jeff Crank joins The Business Signal for a wide-ranging discussion about the federal decisions shaping Colorado’s Fifth Congressional District and the Southern Colorado economy.
Crank addresses the anticipated relocation of U.S. Space Command and argues that the loss will be outweighed by new Space Force investments. He identifies three major developments: a proposed space operations center, the relocation of a space-infrastructure acquisition office and a significant expansion of Space Force training at Peterson. In Crank’s assessment, these investments could strengthen Colorado Springs’ position as a center for military space operations while attracting additional contractors, suppliers and technical talent.
The conversation moves beyond defense to examine economic diversification, federal tax policy, inflation, energy costs and the national debt. Crank defends extending existing tax provisions and targeted relief for working families, while acknowledging that the country’s fiscal trajectory will eventually require difficult reductions in federal spending.
Housing receives particular attention. Crank discusses legislation intended to help builders pay down a portion of a first-time buyer’s student debt, while conceding that increasing purchasing power without expanding housing supply could place additional pressure on prices. He also outlines his opposition to state-level building and energy mandates that he believes increase construction costs.
The interview further explores constitutional limits on federal authority, congressional ethics, stock trading by public officials and the distinction between compromise on matters of judgment and conviction on foundational principles.
Crank closes by reflecting on congressional service, the economic diversity of the district and the importance of receiving constructive criticism.

Melissa Scruggs, president of Colorado Springs-based Financial Talent Group, joins host Dirk Hobbs for a candid conversation about one of the most consequential and complicated decisions any organization makes: hiring the right person.
Today’s online hiring systems can process hundreds of applications, yet qualified candidates are often overlooked by automated filters before a meaningful conversation ever takes place. At the same time, employers must look well beyond technical skills and experience to understand a candidate’s temperament, leadership style, communication habits and compatibility with the organization.
Scruggs explains why successful recruiting requires a distinctly human approach. The conversation explores changing workplace expectations across generations, compensation, organizational culture and the questions employers should ask to better understand how someone is likely to perform once placed in a position.
For job seekers, Melissa offers perspective on presenting their experience and capabilities in an increasingly AI-driven employment market. For employers, she examines the importance of looking beyond the résumé to identify people who can contribute, adapt and grow.
It is an insightful discussion about restoring judgment, relationships and humanity to the hiring process.
Learn more here: https://financialtalentgroup.com 

Three trusted Southern Colorado meteorologists. Decades of experience. A new way to deliver the forecast.
Matt Meister, Merry Matthews, and Rachael Plath have spent decades forecasting and communicating Southern Colorado weather for broadcast television. Now, they’re bringing that deep local knowledge together in a new online format with Peaks2Plains Weather.
The mission is simple: combine experienced meteorologists, powerful forecasting technology, and a deep understanding of Colorado’s unique weather patterns to provide detailed, specific, and reliable forecasts - available 24 hours a day.
Because Colorado weather isn’t one-size-fits-all. What matters in Colorado Springs can be very different from what’s happening in the mountains, on the plains, or along the Front Range.
Peaks2Plains Weather is built to help you understand not just what the forecast says, but what it means for your travel, events, work, and outdoor plans.
Local expertise + powerful technology + Colorado-focused forecasting.
Learn more at https://peaks2plainsweather.com/
#Peaks2PlainsWeather #ColoradoWeather #Meteorology #WeatherForecast #SouthernColorado #Colorado
 

Swisspod, a leading developer of hyperloop technology, has crossed several milestones in transportation during its second U.S. Hyperloop Day event, unveiling the world’s largest hyperloop test track, presenting Aerys 1, its first hyperloop capsule model, and performance of successful record-breaking live tests.
Denis Tudor, Ph.D. is the co-founder and CEO of Swisspod Technologies, a Swiss-American transportation technology company founded in 2019. Swisspod is developing hyperloop-type transportation systems for both freight and eventually passengers—essentially electrically propelled vehicles traveling through low-pressure tubes to dramatically reduce aerodynamic drag.
Tudor is Romanian-born, apparently born in 1994, making him roughly 31–32. His academic credentials are unusually relevant to the company he's running. He graduated valedictorian from Politehnica University of Bucharest in 2017, earning his bachelor's degree in electronics/telecommunications engineering. He subsequently went to Switzerland's prestigious École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), where he completed a Ph.D. focused specifically on the optimal design and operation of hyperloop transportation systems.
He remains associated with EPFL as a scientific consultant in its Distributed Electrical Systems Laboratory.
Why Pueblo matters
This is where I think Tudor becomes particularly relevant to The Business Signal/Digest.
Swisspod isn't merely talking about Colorado as a future market. Pueblo is becoming one of the central proving grounds for its technology.
Swisspod is developing its major U.S. test facility in Pueblo in partnership with MxV Rail and PuebloPlex. Tudor has described it as a full-scale facility intended to validate long-haul hyperloop operation.
The planned facility occupies roughly 40 acres (162,000 square meters) and uses a closed-loop configuration designed to allow repeated long-distance-equivalent testing rather than simply firing a vehicle down a short straight test track.
And they've moved beyond renderings.
Recent reporting and Tudor's own updates indicate that Swisspod has now operated its full-scale AERYS vehicle in Pueblo, with continuing increases in demonstrated speed. Tudor's current profile reports 146 km/h (about 91 mph) for AERYS 1 and says the company is developing AERYS 2, a fully contactless vehicle intended for substantially higher speeds and eventually incorporating a passenger seat.
https://swisspod.com 

A 200-year-old Argentine winemaking legacy has crossed the Andes - and entered the American Rockies through Colorado Springs.
 
The Business Signal sat down with respected banking executive and community leader, Shawn Gullixson, whose unexpected journey into Argentina’s wine industry began at a Harvard executive course in Cambridge.
Shawn met Finca Los Maza owner Alex Campbell. Later, Shawn and his wife, Mattie, traveled to Argentina  and fell in love with its people, hospitality and deeply rooted wine culture.
 
Mr. Gullixson is now an owner and partner in the historic vineyard, nestled in the Uco Valley at the foot of the Andes. For nearly two years, he and his partners have worked to build a direct business bridge between Argentina and Colorado - bringing Finca Los Maza’s highly rated wines, including its celebrated Malbec, to restaurants and retailers throughout the Pikes Peak region.
 
Kick back and enjoy this fascinating conversation about wine, relationships, entrepreneurship and bringing a centuries-old Argentine tradition to a new American audience.  https://www.flmwines.com/
#TheBusinessSignal #FincaLosMaza #ColoradoSprings #ArgentineWine #UcoValley #ColoradoBusiness #KVOR